Railway-crossing gate



July 31, 1923. 1,463,520

J. R. VANDIVIER ET AL RAILWAY CROSSING GATE Filed Oct. 28. 1921 Patented July 31, l923.'

UNIT ED rras JAMES B. VANDIVIER, or-rnAnKLIm'ANn GEORGE E. HUNT, on rnnnn HAUTE,

INDIANA. Y r y i c RAILWAY-CROSSING GATE.

To all whom it may concern 7 Be it known that we, JAMES R. VANDIVIER and GEORGE R. HUNT, citizens of the United States, residing at Franklin, county of Johnson, and at Terre Haute, in the county of Vigo, respectively, and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Railway- Crossing Gate, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to theac- 10 companying. drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to apparatus which is designed to be used as a protection against accidents at raliway crossings, especially where railways and highways cross, the m; vention having reference more particularly to the type of crossing gate that comprises a pivotally movable arm designed to. be lowered across -the highway at a crossing and to be controlled by a train moving on the railway. v

An object of the invention is to provide a simply constructed and efficient crossing gate of the above-mentioned character which shall be free from complicated and troublesome controlling apparatus, such as electrical appliances and springs;

A further object is to provide a railway crossing gate and controlling apparatus which shall be of such construction as to permit the gate to automatically move to closed position in case of accidental derangement'or final wearing away of its controlling appliance or parts thereof.

A still further object is to provide a railway crossing gate and controlling apparatus which shall be so constructed as to not be costly to produce, not liable to become de ranged or unreliable, and which shall be 40 durable and economical inuse.

With the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the'invention consists in a road crossing gate provided with means whereby the gate may be variably counterbalanced so as to be gravity-actuated both in moving to closed position and in returning from closed position; and, the invention consists also further in the novel devices or parts and in the combinations and arrangemerits of parts as hereinafter particularly described and further defined in the accompanying claims.

' Referr g to t e drawings, gu e l is a Application filed October 28, 1921. Serial'No. 511,160.

side view of a railway and a crossing provided with the invention,a locomotive being indicated as having caused the gate to be closed; Fig, 2 is a sectional elevation-of the main features of the invention; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation approximately at right angles with respect to the preceding figure; Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation at right angles to Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section showing closely related portions of the controlling apparatus; Fig. 6 is asec- .tional detailof one of the controlling de vices; Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of other controlling devices of the apparatus; and Fig. 8 1s a fragmentarysection'al elevation of an adjustable counterweight suitablefor the gate.

Similar reference characters in the various figures of the drawings indicate corresponding or like elements or features of construction herein referred to in detail.

As illustrative of the purpose of the invention a railway is indicated in the drawings,

the numeral 2 referring to the track rails,

3 a highway crossing, 4: a locomotive having a cab 5 and a running-board 6.

A practical embodiment of the invention comprises a. suitable housing for supporting the crossing gate and enclosing parts of its controlling apparatus, and preferably the housing comprises a casing 7 in which a frame is supported on a suitable base 8, the housing being arranged at one side of the railway track and at one side of the highway crossing. The frame comprises suitable upright side members 9 andlO and a tie bar 11 connected thereto. A pivot stand 12 is supported on the base outside of the-casing and supports one end of a pivot shaft 13 that extends through the frame member 9 I and is supported by the member 10. The gate preferably is built up of a number of parts comprising'preferably a pair of arms 1 1 and. 15 and a single arm member 16 secured thereto, the arms or main parts 14 and 15 being connected to the pivot 13. The gate is provided witha suitable counterweight 17 preferably havinga shank 18 that is secured to the arms and to the shaft 13. The counterweight preferably has a screw-' threaded hole 19 inits endin which a large screw 20 is inserted that may be moved outward from the pivot shaft 0 i jlls mwfi f of the counterweight. A stop pin 21 is and the pin may be engaged by the counter-' weight whenthe gate is moved upward to approximately vertical position. Preferably the counterweight has an overbalana ing lead weight 22 therein and arranged so as to tend to move the gate from upright towards the closed position; or the counterweight maybe otherwise made to causerthe 4 desired action. The shaft 13 has a" toothed pinion 23 thereon adjacent to the side member 10. An'axle 24 is suitably supported by the frame members 9 and 10 at a suitable distance higher than the shaft 13 and ro' t-atably supports a toothed gear wheel 25 in mesh with the pinion 23-. A pulley 26 is rotatably arranged also onthe axle 24- and it has an arm 27 fixed thereto which carries a pivot 28to which a rod29 is connected that has a broad beveled ratchet tooth 30 to constitute a dog the tooth being arranged so as to engage the teeth of the wheel 25 and extend laterally from the wheel towards the member 10. A cable 31 is secured to the pulley and has a weight 32 connected thereto; the weight preferably being arranged in a hollow stationary guide 33. The weight 32 is sufficient to turn the pulley in one direction to cause the dog to rotatethe wheel 25 and cause the pinion 23 to be rotated, so that the counterweight of the gate is in ef- {fect augmented to move the gate upwardly from closed position. Thus the gate is both closed andopened by taking advantage of the force of gravity. The pulley preferably is limited in its movements and therefore is provided with stop pins 34 and 35 arranged to alternately engage a stop block 36 that is adjustably mounted in a box 37 secured to the frame member 9 and provided with a horizontal'adjusting screw 38. A box 39 is secur'edto theouter side of the frame member 10, and it has a vertically arranged adjusting screw 40 therein which controls a nut 4l-that is guided for vertical adjustment in the box and has an arm 42 thereon which "carries a rest plate 43 that extends back between the wheel 25 and the inner side of the frame member 10, so as to be engaged by the tooth 30 of the dog while the wheel is being -rot'ated during the descent of the weight 32, resulting in the tooth of the dog sliding along the plate and causing it to be withdrawn from the gear wheel. 7

A box 44'is arranged below the base 8 and supports guide sheaves 4'5 and 46 in the upper portion thereof and also a similar sheave in a lower portion of the box. The upper portion of the frame member 9 supports alpivot 4 8 ion which latch lever is pivotally supported, the lever having a long weighted latch arm 49 that extends through the'casin 7 and havin also a relativel short controllingarm 50. The gate has a suitable catch device 51 secured thereto that is; arranged to be carried by the upward moving gate to thelatch arm 49 and is d'e signed to be engaged by thearm to hold the gate in approximately upright position. A*

cable 52 is connected to the short arm 50and extends downward and about the sheave 45. A cable 53 is connected to the pulley 26 and extends downward and about the sheave '46 whereby to turn the pulley to lift the weight A short cable 54 is connected to the cable 52 and extends over the sheave 47 and has a weight 55 connected to it,-to cause the cable 52 to be drawn back towards the sheave 45 to permit the weighted latch arm 49 to tilt the latchlever so as to be in position to engage the catch 51.

A post 56 is suitably placed alongthe railway track at a suitable distance from the crossingin the direction from which a train approaches the crossing and it hasa pivot 57 at its top which supports a trip lever having a short arm 53 and relatively long operatingarm 59, the latternormally extending upwardlyand in the direction towards the crossing, to be operated by a suitable device on each locomotive. A guide sheave 60 is suitably supported at the bottom of the post and guides the cable 52 which is connectedto the arm 58. Beyond the crossing similar post 56 is erected and has a pivot 57' supporting the lever comprising the short arm 58 and the lon er operating arm 59', the guide sheave 50 being supported at the bottom of the post and guiding-the cable 53 which is connected to the arm 53- whereby the opening of the gate is effected following the passing I r of the train over the crossing. a I

The locomotive may be provided with riously constructed appliances whereby to operate the arm 59 suitable means comprising a. device 61 mounted on the front ofthe cab 5 or on the running-board 6 so as to be in proper position to engage the arm.

t is to be understood that thegate' and controlling apparatus described is to be operated by trains passing in one direction, and that'the opposite side of the railway track or -zmothc r tracl: is to be similarly passes beyond the end thereof. Nhen' the arm 59 is pushed downward the cable 52 is drawn outward slightly over the sheave and tilts the latch lever so that the latch arm 4i9 is lifted from the catch 51, permitting the gate to pivotally movedownward to closed position, .the' gate being heavier than its counterweight. The devicebl is left in extended position until it engages and operates the arm 59 which causes the cable to be pulled about the sheave 46 and downward sufficiently to rotate the pulley 2 which causes the weight 32 to be lifted and the tooth 30 to slide from the plate 43 across a number of the teeth of the wheel 25 to engage one of the teeth. The weight immediately descends and turns the pulley 26 which causes the dog to turn the wheel 25, the latter turning the pinion 23 which turns the shaft 13 and assists in lifting the gate to upright or open position, the gate when upright being latched as above explained. ing and turning the pulley 26 so that the gear wheel 25 is rotated, the tooth 30 is brought into contact with the rest platezt3 and thereby withdrawn from the wheel, permitting the wheel 25 to be idly rotated by the pinion 23 when the gate is descending to closed position. The rest plate 43 may be vertically adjusted by the screw40 as may be required to control the dog so as to properly operate in connection with the gear wheel 25. The stop block 36 may be adjusted when required by means of the screw 38 to control the stopping positions of the pulley 26.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A railway crossing gate including a gate arm pivotally supported to freely move to and rest in horizontal position, a toothed wheel and a pulley arranged together to independently turn on one and the same axis, a dog pivotally mounted on the pulley to engage and move the toothed wheel in one direction, means for gearing the toothed wheel with the gate arm, a weight element connected with the pulley to turn it in one direction, means connected with the pulley to turn it in the opposite direction, and means for automatically controlling pivotal movement of the dog.

2. A railway crossing gate including a frame, a gate arm pivotally supported by the frame and permitted to freely move to and rest in horizontal position, a toothed wheel anda pulley mounted to independently turn in the frame, the pulley having an arm fixed thereto that is provided with a relatively movable dog to engage and move the toothed wheel in one direction, a gear device connecting the toothed wheel with the gate arm, a cable secured to the pulley, a-

lVhen the weight 32 is descend weight element suspended by the cable to turn the pulley in one direction, means connected with the pulley to turn it in theop posite direction, and means for controlling the movements of the dog.

3. A railway'crossin'g ate includin a frame, a pivot shaft rotatively mounts in and move the toothed wheel in one direction,

a cable secured to the pulley, a weight element connected 'to and suspended by the cable to turn the pulley in one direction and cause the dog to move the toothed wheel, a rest plate supported by the frame to guide the dog from the toothed wheel during movement of the 'wheeland to support the dog, and means connected with the pulley for turning it in the opposite direction to lift the weight element and cause the dog to be moved from the rest plate and into connection with the toothed wheel.

4. Ina railway crossing gate, the combi-, nation of a rotative pivot shaft, a gate arm secured to the shaft, a pinion fixed to the shaft, a rotary toothed wheel in mesh with the pinion, a rotary pulley device, a weight element suspended on the pulley device,

' means connected, with the pulley device to rotate the device to lift the weight element, and means actuated by the pulley device to rotate the toothed wheel on descent of the weight element.

5. In a railway crossing gate, the combination of a rotary toothed wheel, a rotary pulley having an arm fixed thereto, a dog pivoted to the arm to engage the toothed wheel, a pivoted gate arm having operative connection with the toothed wheel, a cable connected to the pulley, a weight element supported by the cable, a draft cable con nected to the pulley, and an adjustable plate arranged to guide the dog alternately to and from the toothed wheel.

6. In a railway crossing gate, the combination of a frame, a pivot shaft rotatively mounted in the frame and having a pinion fixed thereto, a gate arm secured to the shaft and having a catch device thereon, an axle supported by'the frame, a toothed wheel and a pulley device mounted to independently turn on the axle, the toothed wheel having connection with the pinion, the pulley device having a weight element thereon constantly tending to turn the device in one direction, a dog movably mounted on the pulley devitze f0 engage and move the toothed In iestimony whereof, We affix our signawheei. in (me dimctiogl wiizh tlw pulley detures 111 presence oftwo Witnesges.

vice, means for bentrolling fine movements JAMES R. VANDIVIER. oi the dug, a device connected to the whey; 1 r v 5 device to turn it the pposibe diriction, GEORGE HUN a latch movably mounted on the frame to be Witnesses: engaged by said catch device, and a pull de- E; T. SILvIUs, vice connected to the latch.

ROBERT LIEBRIGH. 

